The Sho Must Go On!
by NinjagoZ
Summary: Sho Reagan is the 18-year-old pop star miracle of the century. The Sho the world doesn't know is monotone and wants not to be a singer, but a hero. Zane, however, sees something beyond the voice and the face of the idol. He sees Sho's will for freedom. When Sho is kidnapped by a gang, can Sho see through the veil of regret to achieve his dreams? Or will the Hero Dream abandon him?
1. I Hate Performing

** Italics stand for singing.**

**All music is my original work, so dont steal my skill!**

Sho Reagan stared at the mirror, knowing he would have to smile a smile with no meaning once more. What did it feel like to truly be happy- to smile with a lot of emotion and no lies? Sho shook his head- his prison of shadows in his mind had nothing to be real for.

Sho had shaggy brown hair, cute but messy. He had goldish highlights in the mix as well. His eyes were a dark shadow of green, just as green as his envy of other people's emotions and feelings. He knew his pale complexion and his harmonic voice weren't blessing, as most people saw it as.

His talent and beauty were a curse a thousand times over.

Sho took a deep breath, and walked onto that stage for the third time today. He smiled this brilliant, pearly white grin. Once more, he had to leave his hatred behind. Once more, he felt like a puppet. Once more, his blessing became a curse. The crowd was full of women about the same age he was- 18 years old.

"Hello, Ninjago City!" Yelled Sho into the microphone, "You look beautiful tonight!"

Then he saw a surprise: the ninja were there, as well as the samurai. He knew today must be his living hell. A special performance. He smiled, but sighed silently. This was perfect... If you loved singing so much you couldn't talk normally, and you wanted to fill your brain with pointlessness. He felt a lump form in his throat, but he swallowed it.

Sho announces, "Oh? Is that the NINJA I see? I'm _honored_ to be able to perform for such heroes!"

If there was God up there, then Sho guessed He hated Sho- a lot.

He did not just dislike the ninja... He despised them for being famous. It meant special songs, old requests, and a long show. His voice would never return to normal, not unless he quit before his voice was stuck in eternal flatness. He had to sing to put emotion in his voice- the only time he felt safe...

The music started, and Sho did the only thing that made him feel anywhere near normal. He sung.

_"Ya gotta go strong, ya gotta think fast, or this beautiful day, will be the last... Ya gotta keep fighting the flow of a river..._

_"It seemed so long ago, that I ever looked into your eyes. I wiped your tears away, asking why you're cryin'. 'Why does it matter?' you began to ask, and I pulled off my masquerade mask..._

_"I told you don't worry, we'll be alright! As long as I linger, in your sight! Nothing matters more to me... Than you... And me..._

_"Seemed like ball gowns are made of light, and seems like yours eyes are silken night. The angels seemed to fall away... For you..._

_"It's more than a way! More than I'll be! I'm nothing more than a bachelor, in a starry sea... I'm only man, waiting for his girl, in the mysterious pull of the unknown world! Ya gotta go strong, ya gotta think fast, or this beautiful day, will be your last... Ya gotta keep fighting the flow of a river, that's heart deep..._

_"You're more to me..."_

Sho's smile that was false meant nothing more than a show of his teeth and a lie. But the feelings inside of him, in his painful song, were beyond real. The quick, warm beat brought him to his senses.

_"I know I did things in the past that weren't true, but no matter how far I ran it was always back to you! And I don't know why, but you never gave up, and I can't tell how, you always could give so much..._

_"I know you loved me, more than anyone could, but I know my heart was freed, when I saw your face, in my dismal world... It was more hopeful than an angel could be..._

_"It's more than a way! More than I'll be! I'm nothing more than a bachelor, in a starry sea... I'm only man, waiting for his girl, in the mysterious pull of the unknown world! Ya gotta go strong, ya gotta think fast, or this beautiful day, will be your last... Ya gotta keep fighting the flow of a river, that's heart deep..._

_"It's heart deep, beyond words can describe... Nothing matches my puzzle together, like your piece... You're not some small fish to catch and release. I'm not some beast of a man, like an angel could match..._

_"You're more... To me... You're more to meeee..."_

All the crowd screams, save the ninja. They nodded in approval, save the white one. It was more like the blonde was appraising him- Zane, was it? Sho could feel him and his judgmental blue eyes. It was frustrating to be looked at like there was something wrong with Sho!

Then, Sho felt a chill crawl up his back. Zane knew he was faking his smiles. The brunette star felt it in his cold bones. He couldn't seem to do anything to convey his anger, because he had forgotten how to move his eyebrows. The only thing he could do was pull a straight face- not even a frown could manage.

After finishing the concert, Sho decided to speak to Zane. It would increase his fame- not that he wanted to be more popular-, but he wanted to feel. Who better than the ninja to give him back his heart? Of course, it's one thing to plan out the conversation...

Of course Sho would get Zane to scare him half to death.

A cold, light hand touches Sho's shoulder, and Sho whipped around. Sho didn't even look scared, unless you looked into his eyes. His fear wasn't skin-deep. It was hidden inside of him because of the fact he couldn't feel anymore. His face was nearly that of a porcelain doll, and his voice was flat like paper.

"Excuse me, Sho Reagan?" Zane asks.

Sho responds, "Yes, that's me."

Zane asks, "Why did you seem... Pained? When you were on stage?"

"Because of you ninja." Sho responds quietly, his paper tone never changing. The he walks away.

Then Zane knew it, in his heart. Sho was a caged bird of prey- unhappy to stay in it, unable to leave the prison another had inflicted on him. Zane also knew one more thing.

Zane knew how to set Sho free.


	2. What He Thinks

Zane sat at the table at dinner, playing with his miso soup. It was the same color of brown as Sho's hair, according to his heart, but the spectrum said differently. In fact, his spectrum intelligence says they are on opposing parts- the miso soup had a much darker brown than Sho's hair.

"Zane?" Cole's voice startles the white ninja.

Zane falls out of his seat, but quickly scrambles back in. He asks, "Y-yes, Cole?"

Cole wonders, "Are you feeling alright, Zane? You're acting weird... Even for you."

Zane smiled falsely, trying to understand Sho's struggles, "I'm just fine."

Apparently, he did a terrible job at it, too, because Cole walked up to him and checked Zane's temperature. Zane frowned at that point. What was wrong with a little bit of distraction?

"You don't feel sick... Is something upsetting you?" Cole presses, and all the ninja nodded and watched. Nya was watching, Sensei, Misako, Garmadon, and his father were watching.

Zane admits, "I spoke to Sho Reagan."

Jay asks, "Was he cool? Like he is on stage?"

"No," Zane slowly responds, "He acted like... A caged bird... Like he wanted the freedom he could never have, and his smiles on stage were completely faked."

"What? But Sho Reagan is the world's most aspiring singer, Zane." Kai argues.

Zane sighs, "His voice was so paper thin! It had no tone at all, less tone than me. He had NO emotion! He also said... He hates us..."

"Nobody, not even Sho, can bully you like that, Zane! I won't let h-" Cole starts ranting.

Zane snaps, "I wasn't finished talking! Brother, Sho didn't mean he hates us for who we are, it is because we are famous, meaning more hard work for him!"

"He has a soft life, Zane." Kai adds.

Zane cries out, frustrated, "If you had looked into his eyes, heard his real voice, you could UNDERSTAND!"

"Then what are we supposed to 'understand', Zane?" Asks Jay.

Zane murmurs, "Sho has no choice if he wants to do this or not."

Silence falls over the room at that point, because they did not have a response to the answer the white ninja gave. Sho, famous popstar and biggest hit of the century, with no choice but to sing and go on stage? Maybe, since he has a crammed schedule. Maybe not, since they never see him frown.

"... I sense he needs to become a ninja." Sensei Wu finally breaks the silence.

Zane argues, "How will being a ninja help Sho?"

"I do not know. Zane, there are things I cannot answer." Sensei Wu sighs.

Misako demands, "But there are no new prophecies, no new scrolls- there is nothing that can say he'll be a ninja of anything!"

"And yet, there is nothing that says he can't, Misako." Garmadon interjects, "This Sho Reagan person can create his own legend, if he can stand by the way of the ninja."

Dr. Julien sighs, "It can happen. Zane was never going to work, they all said, and yet I managed to build him into what he is now."

Misako mutters, "There is no way a pop star will become a ninja! Even if he can do spinjitzu, he has lived this life too long!"

"I lived the life of a traveller." Zane argues, "I did just fine."

Kai adds, "I was a blacksmith!"

"I was an inventor back when." Jay declares.

Cole adds, "And I was a singer and a dancer- a run away, mind you, but still..."

All four ninja explain, "Anyone can be a ninja if they try."

Then, Zane glared out the window. He could feel Sho's hurt, and could sense Sho's stress and maltreatment. Sho was having problems. He didn't have anyone to help him, though. Zane frowns- could he help Sho?


	3. White Cold Ninja

**Once again... I wrote the song! It's my song property!**

Sho sat upon a chair with his parents at opposite ends of the table. Maddeline Reagan and Cody Reagan. Cody had black eyes and blonde hair. He seemed evil if you looked at him anyways. Maddeline had red hair and green eyes. Where the heck did that turn into a brunette baby boy?!

Maddeline asks, "So, how did today go, Sho?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary, mom." He replies.

Cody asks, "How many shows did you do today?"

"Th... Three..." Sho extends the word to represent his nervousness. He still was monotonous.

Maddeline yells, "That is not a living wage! You were supposed to do five a day! You deadbeat teenage freeloader!"

"I'm sorry..." Sho whispers, no tone in his voice still.

Cody screams, "TO YOUR ROOM! YOU WILL NOT MISBEHAVE LIKE THIS!"

Sho begs monotonously, "But there were only those three positions!"

Four men walk in and drag Sho up the stairs. The young adult doesn't fight back, because the men would hurt him, regardless of his status in public. They can use makeup to cover the bruises. When Sho was a kid, he was hoping to be a hero. His parents say it would never come true.

Sho sat in his room, his heart filled with anger he could never release, stress he would have to deal with. Of course, it all went away when he slept. In his dreams, he is a hero, his parents forgotten, his powers greater than any force of evil. He pushes himself against a wall.

"These dreams aren't real." He repeats for the fiftieth time the week, "Your dreams aren't your reality."

What Sho didn't expect was a reply. He also didn't expect it to be who it was, nevermind to see him sitting in his windowsill.

"You realize they could become your life if you just let go of your family?" A voice asks.

Sho turns around, his face like stone. It was Zane, and he was sitting in the moonlight, his pale hair illuminated to nearly pure white. His pale eyes were reflected the stars. Sho was in shock.

Zane continues, "Well? Do you want to run away or not?"

"I-I can't..." Sho mumbles. For once, his voice wasn't completely flat, though it was still fairly dull.

Zane hops into his room, and flops onto Sho's bed, which was an orange color. The pillows had a special design on them, in the shape of a shuriken. The walls were all red cedar, and the floor had grey carpet. Not exactly complimentary colors, like the red and orange hand-drawn posters.

Zane puts his hand onto a poster Sho had drawn- not of himself or a character, but Zane. The white ninja was on a cool blue background, and he had a shuriken in his hand. The actual Zane glances at Sho, who was trying desperately to be embarrassed.

Zane comments, "You are a lovely artist."

"No! I-I'm not that good, honestly..." Sho cries softly, emotion in his voice for the first time, like Zane was awakening a part of him nobody had seen.

The bleach blonde notes, "You want to be free." It wasn't a question, either.

"Very much, but I fear my parents too much to... To leave them." Sho manages to flatten his voice- to talk with emotion freaked the burnette out. (That was not a typo. Burnette is a reddish-brown hair color in my lingo.)

"If you're afraid, you need to tell somebody. No one has the right to cause you discomfort." Zane points out.

Sho sighs, "You don't understand... I've got a crushed dream of being a hero- if I ran away, they would always find me and take me back."

"Do you know the difference between a broken dream and a crushed dream?" Zane asks. When Sho doesn't respond, Zane explains, "You have a broken dream, which you can pull back together with some effort. A crushed dream is gone for good."

Sho asks, "How can you be so sure?"

"I see it within your heart, Sho. I can feel it." Zane murmurs, about to slip out the window.

A warm, silken hand suddenly grasps Zane's chilling wrist. The white ninja looks back, to see the pleading eyes peering into his, and the blonde looks past the flawless and smooth skin to see the loneliness and fear flooding through Sho. Zane feels himself freeze up.

Sho desperately wonders, "Will you come back tommorrow?"

"I'll always come back, if it will help you, Sho. I seem to have brought some of you back already." Zane murmurs.

Sho releases Zane's hand, letting the enigmatic character slip into the night. Zane was more a father than Cody ever was. The brunette pulled out a piece of paper, writing the heading, and singing the song aloud as it flows onto the paper. It turned into perfection.

* * *

White Cold, by Sho Reagan

_"It was a clear night, and the stars were falling. You were watching a shooting star, you said you'd scoop it, from the open sky, and make it a pure, loving heart... Make so it won't break. I'm a shooting star... Beyond the mirror and the face, you. Saw. The secret part!_

_"Making my way through crowded city walls, hoping maybe I'd see you again. I shot for the stars, and broke my own dreams, but you put it back together, and stitched back, all the broken seams._

_"Can you see me? In the blinding lights and through the crowds? I'm a superstar, but no matter what I am, you know who we are...! Cuz you know..._

_"I'm a gentle kind of guy, I can't stand on my own, and I can't go it all alone! You're a cool, kind person, standing on your own, and you can take it on your own! Yet you took me along, tonight, and you made wrongs in my world feel... Alright..._

_"One day later, in the middle of the night, you snuck the window, into my life! It was drowning experience, cuz you it's wrong... But to thank you for it, I wrote a song! I was never loved like this!_

_"You're not just a best friend, you're more of a father, to me! You made it me strong, you brought me back, you kept me from a heart's attack, you brought me to life, made the young feel old, but I don't care, even though you're..._

_"White cold..._

_"I was walking to see my day, then I saw your brilliant face... And I cried out in white cold pain... _

_"Can you see me? In the blinding lights and through the crowds? I'm a superstar, but no matter what I am, you know who we are...! Cos you know..._

_"I'm a gentle kind of guy, I can't stand on my own, and I can't go it all alone! You're a cool, kind person, standing on your own, and you can take it on your own! Yet you took me along, tonight, and you made wrongs in my world feel... Alright..._

_"Because you're... White cold..."_

* * *

Dedicated to Zane Julien, a friend and hero to everyone.

Sho noticed his parents coming in, and he hid the paper away, sitting in his bed. They glared at him. His mother and father walked out... If they even had the right to be called that. The teenage pop star looks at the the stars, and makes a promise out loud.

"I'll never lose hope again. I swear."


	4. Thugs (or an unorganized gang? Nah)

Sho walked down the street, staring at the neon lights. He was very grateful for the hoodie and the fact that he was wearing a scarf. Nobody was recognizing Sho for who he was. He felt pretty happy, and smiled without a lie. There was no reason he didn't smile, and all too many to smile.

"Zane..." It was the first word to bubble to Sho's lips when he saw a snowflake.

It wasn't like Sho to get distracted, so he stared towards the nearest alleyway, feeling movement. Six men dressed in ratty clothes were standing beside each other, and Sho was afraid to be hurt. The pop star clutches his microphone, which was small enough to fit in his pockets.

"Hey! Pretty boy! Why don't you come over 'ere for a moment?" One thug asks. He had greasy red hair and a missing tooth.

Sho simply tells them, "No thank you."

The idol continues walking, a little faster. He moved to the edge of a crowd, so they wouldn't come near him. Too bad they didn't really care who saw...

The next thug grips his arm, and Sho gives a cry. People start looking, just as the redhead thug rips the hood off, and grabs Sho around the neck. The pop star was afraid, but didn't show it, save a single drop of nervous sweat.

"I said, come 'ere." The former gangster whispers.

Sho saw most people were watching, and the main thug could tell as well. He pulls an AK-47 out from under the dumpster he was by, and aims at Sho.

"You move an inch, and pretty boy gets it!" the redhead calls to the crowd.

The world became as still as death. Sho was nearly in tears, and then he saw a shadow the thugs didn't- the ninja. They were sneaking up on the thieves and killers, but they had no guns. Sho feels the gangsters- if you could call this excuse of a circle a gang- begin to drag him away.

Sho didn't classify them as gangsters. He also didn't classify them as homeless people. Neither one was stupid. These guys were just plain stupid men who didn't want to get a job, so they decided to beat people up or kidnap. Then the ninja sprang.

Everything happened too fast to understand. At first, Sho cried out when the bullet nearly hit him as the redhead flipped out. Kai cut the gun in half with his sword, causing the redhead to drop it and force Sho to move. There were actually a lot of men under reddie's command, and the ninja found themselves having trouble with not hurting anybody human.

Zane shouts, "Guys, our main priority is to protect those in danger!"

"Yeah, but how are we supposed to protect the Reagan guy AND the citizens?!" Cole snaps.

Kai answers back, "These guys aren't human enough anymore if they try to kidnap some guy on the street because they want money. Treat them like Serpentine!"

It was a much faster fight to just knock them out and go on, but by the time they had finished, Sho and the thugs carrying him were completely gone. Sho knew singing made him feel alright, made his fear go away, even though it hurt sometimes. So he began to sing a song.

_"I open up my eyes... Look at the broken window... Make a silent sigh, and hope to leave the black widow... I know I've tried, to let you go... Fill my eyes with a new girl, but every time I see you, it's like freshened snow..."_

One of the thugs looks at Sho like he was a freak, and wonders, "Why are you singing?"

"I'm Sho Reagan," Sho argues, "I'm a singer. What else can I do?"

"Huh. You're a real weirdo, kid."

"And you, sir, are a fat tub of lard."

"I'd kill you, but then we don't get the money for you 'safe return'. So maybe I'll just beat the spite outta your pretty little voice." He threatens.

Sho argues, "Not if I have two brain cells to rub together, you won't."

"Ya sound like a cardboard box." the thug growls

Sho snaps, "Well, it seems that over a million screaming fanatics like this cardboard box more than they like you."

The thug has no response to that. Then Sho was locked away in a lonely room.


	5. Issac

Sho stared at the moonlight through his bars, praying that somebody could see the grate- or hear him scream, for that matter. Of course, nobody had travelled these streets in days, and those who did were part of the supposed gang.

"Still wasting your energy looking for somebody, Sho?" Asks one of the nicer thugs.

Now, nice was a hard word to apply to the man who just kidnapped you last week, but he was truly a good man. He just didn't know any other way besides the life of bad deeds, kidnappings, and murders. If you told him there was another way of life, he would follow you anywhere to be free of the blood on his hands.

Sho sighs, "I suppose I am wasting my energy..."

"Well, I wish you'd at least sit down to talk for a little while. It must be really uncomfortable up on that bed, peering into a grate." The thug tells him.

The man's name was Issac. He had black hair, and amber eyes. His dark brown skin was a bit bruised from fighting, but this wasn't the kind of guy you would normally apply "thug" to. In fact, he was the anti-thesis of his supposed status. Issac was gentle and kind, and would never harm anyone if it wasn't to survive on the streets.

Sho leaps down from the bed, sitting by the cell door. He was sure Issac was the safest person he would encounter down here. Safe was a very vague word in this situation, meaning won't kill you or try to strangle you.

Issac tells him, "I'm pretty sure the boss will be true to his words."

"How can you be sure?" Wonders Sho.

"Sho, I know my boss- he's usually good about his word."

Sho asks, "Usually...?"

Issac shrugs, "Most of the time, anyways..."

"I feel so safe. Not."

"Don't be so pessimistic, Sho! I'm sure he'll set you free when the dues are paid!"

Sho nearly screams, but it turns into a whisper, "My parents won't pay the dues."

"What?" Issac looks shocked.

Sho sighs, "My parents would rather have me rot than lose some money to save my life."

"That's terrible!" Issac murmurs, keeping his volume in check.

Sho looks away, knowing that Issac was feeling sorry for him despite the fact that he was supposed to hold Sho hostage. It was hard being a good person in a world full of bad men and women. Even he knew better than to ask why Sho cared about his parents- if you could call them that- despite what they did.

Issac whispers, "There's always an exit for those who look..."

"Thanks for the encouragement, they'd never suspect it was you who told me that." Sho hisses sarcastically.

It was kind of nice to talk with emotion.

Sho stood up, perching on his bed once more, this time to stare at the darkened night sky. The cell was dirty and muggy, never cold. The star assumed it did get cold eventually, when the snow was coming down like rain.

The brunette began to ponder what Issac meant by that. _There's always an exit for those who look_? Seemed like a strange thing to say, and yet Sho understood precisely what his new friend meant. He meant there was a chance in high heaven the pop idol could escape.

"It's a one in a billion chance that I'll be rescued or escape on my own, Issac." He points out.

Issac argues, "It seems when people think of the odds, they only think of the ten, the million, the billion. What you need to remember..."

He finishes, "You have to remember that simple one."

"Huh." Sho mumbles, thinking.

Issac looks into his new friend's eyes, and tells him, "You've lost faith, but not hope? I never knew there was a difference until I met you..."

"Yeah. How weird is that?"

"It's... A little different, okay."

"I was never meant to be like this, I wasn't born to sing."

"You act like you were born to be a warrior." Issac informs him.

Sho replies, "I wanted to be a hero, a protector, a knight in shining armor."

"Nice way of putting it," Issac sarcastically laughs, "Sho, hero of Ninjago!"

Sho protests, "Hey! That's not nice!"

"It wasn't supposed to be."

The two of them laughed softly. Then Sho soon fell into a dreaming sleep, filled with the wild, uncharted areas, cities of criminals, and him fighting. He wasn't a normal man anymore, though- in this dream, he was a ninja.


	6. Before The Storm

**There is going to be a break in the updates. I must wait a week before I start the 4-part finale chapter: Raging Storm! I leave youu all hanging for now...**

Zane was meditating quietly to try and keep his stress under control. He failed to save a person who thought Zane was God's gift to humanity! It didn't help that Zane was feeling quite fatherly- parentally?- towards the singer. Sitting in the ocean, surrounded by seawater, he felt nothing except his own self-disappointment.

He gave up trying to meditate, and began swimming to the surface, his frustration clear on his own face. He scrambled back onto the wooden boards, and leaned against the mask. A one in a billion chance.

"Zane?" Nya's voice rang out.

Zane sighs, "Do you need something, Nya? I'm a little busy at the moment."

"You don't look busy to me." Nya comments, taking his hand off the mast.

He gave her a withering look, but that didn't send her away. She merely pulls him toward the edge of the deck, and sat down. Zane decided to sit as well- this was going to be a long, irritating conversation... He could feel it in his gears.

Zane snorts, "Where's the emergency?"

"Not here with us, I'll assure you of that." Nya tells him gently.

Zane looks impatiently at her. She simply stares back, worry and confusion as clear as glass. She was being opaque with him.

Nya begins, "Zane, you're not being you anymore..."

"Maybe I don't want to be."

Nya continues, "If you're worried about Sho, we can't do anything about it. He's okay, we're still feeling upset that we couldn't save him too."

"I don't care."

The black haired girl sighs. "You rarely let us get close to you anymore, Zane, like you think we'll vanish if we talk to you."

"Because you will."

She snaps, "You're being an arrogant brat right now, Zane! Cut it out!"

"Maybe I don't want to stop being a jerk." Zane kept replying in the most calm, annoying voice ever.

Nya explains, "Sho's ransom is over ten million. You could round it up to the twenty millions. Zane, he can't be freed with money. The best we can do is hope that he's safe and sound."

Zane snaps back, "What don't you Walkers get about 'leave me alone'? You're not even a true Walker, and you still are just as annoying!"

Nya stood up and walked away at that point. Zane has never referred to Jay, Ed, or Edna as annoying, and yet he yells at her for marrying Jay? This Sho kid must mean something to him...

_"That was kind of rude..."_

Zane froze up. He thinks, _Sho?!_

_"Who else would it be, the bogey man? I figured out how to contact you while I'm sleeping." _Sho's voice responded a little snappily.

The ninja in white suddenly questions his own sanity. Then, the Nindroid calmed himself down. Sho could be a telepath, right?! He begins to let his sixth sense extend into the material universe, and sure enough, Sho's ghost was nowhere to be found. He goes and hides from the others in the crow's nest.

Zane wonders, "What are you doing here?"

_"I'm not with you. I just decided to drop in, that's it. Now I can share my snappy thoughts with somebody. I like it better when you talk at my telepathy- it's a much easier reception."_

Zane snorts, "Drop in, huh? Well, I've been kind of worried about you..."

_"Kind of, huh. Well, I kind of am glad."_ Sho snips, _"I don't even know where I am." _

Zane nods, wondering how Sho was able to contact Zane in his sleep. It was really weird and like having rubber limbs, he could guess. He was about to whisper back, when Sho stops him quickly.

_"I have to go. I'm sorry."_ Sho whispers into his mind, soft and quiet.

Zane cries out, "Wait! Don't leave me alone!"

Then his eye flittered open. He had fallen asleep in the crow's nest? Kai was standing over him, helping him up. The red ninja looked worried.

"I'm right here, Zane. Did your brain fry when you fainted?" Asked the fire master.

Zane whispers, "It was a dream."

The ice guardian could only think of three possible explanations. One: Zane was going insane for some weird reason. Two: He was being indulged by his processor so he didn't have to deal with such torture. Or the least likely, three: Sho and Zane had actually psychically contacted each other in their sleep.

He was hoping it was number three.


	7. Rising Storm part 1

A monster.

A monster isn't a creature from the blue, or a deadly beast. A monster is a man who can do wrong things without remorse. Sho contemplated that with the innocence of a child, and the wonder of a toddler. Yet here he was, stealing from the current guard with no sign of anger or self-shame. His only regret was Issac.

Issac was too loyal, too good for his own sake. He would stick by his friends when he had to, and Sho couldn't save him from the evil that is the 'gang'. It wasn't fair to leave Issac to such a terrible fate. It was the only thing that could wound Sho- losing a friend.

Sho's eyes looked at the guard as he unlocked the door, the thought of getting caught welling fear in his heart. His fingers launching into the pattern of the intricate lock- how did thugs afford this?- was no problem. It was just another day of escaping his silly bedroom, and yet there was still danger.

"So much for unbreakable locks." Sho whispers beneath his breath.

The pop idol snuck down the halls, careful not to make a sound. He thought it was strange that every Thursday, this place became a ghost town... He realized that the men were out gambling and... Other stuff...

_"Fret not, child of the Soul! Push on into the night!" _

The girl's voice gave Sho the chills. Who would be down here besides the gangsters?! Sho had not seen any whom was a woman. He looked behind him, continuing to walk with fear that was undoubtedly sensible. Sho had remembered psychically contacting Zane a while back. This was similar.

Sho knew that voice. He could place a name for it, a truth in the words: Natalie Katsuragi. The idol pauses, thinking, _What the heck? Who is Natalie? What is a Katsuragi?!_ The child shrugs it off, racing down the halls now. However, the name Katsuragi continued to bother him.

"Sho?"

The idol froze in place. That wasn't a voice he could possibly ignore. It was Issac's voice that was talking. The teenager turned around to face the darker man. It was all too soon, of course, to speak to Issac.

Sho sighs, "Hi... Issac..."

"You're leaving." It was painful to know this wasn't a question.

Sho murmurs, "Sorry, man. I told you yesterday and asked if you wanted to come with me..."

"I decided to join in on your freedom."

Sho sputters, "W-what? Yoooou changed your mind?!"

"Yeah. I can't do gang life ever again. I'm tired of killing." Issac explains.

Sho laughs, "This changes everything!"

"Let's go," Issac suggests, "Before the others quit drinking alcohol."

The duo races on, trying to escape. Not that they'd ever succeed at survival. A loud bang emits from behind, and Issac falls to the floor, bullet hole in his back. It was painless, Issac was dead on contact. That didn't stop Sho from screaming.

_"NO!" _

The cry of grief echoed by Natalie Katsuragi was filled with regret. Not Natalie's, but Sho's.


End file.
